#3687 - Taxodium distichum - Baldcypress
AKA swamp cypress; cyprès chauve; cipre, white cypress, tidewater red cypress, gulf cypress, and red cypress.
Native to the SE US, and despite being best known for growing in swamps, is hardy and adaptable enough to grow in any soil from swamp to dry, acid to alkaline, and even somewhat saline.That adaptabilty and the attractive autumn colouration make it a popular ornamental, although the timber is famously rot resistant and prized for building, boatmaking, river pilings, cabinetry and carving.
When growing in swamps the roots often grow raised projections known as cypress knees. These were once thought to provide oxygen to the submerged roots, but now appear to be part of the tree's protection against blowing over in storms.
The largest known baldcypress, The Senator in Longwood, Florida, was 50 m tall before the hurricane of 1925, when it lost about 12 m in height. It had a trunk circumference of 14 m and a diameter of over 5, and was estimated to be 3,500 years old. It was burned down by a methamphetamine user who lit a fire in the hollow trunk in 2012.
Christchurch Botanical Gardens, Aotearoa New Zealand
